Gate for vats



UNITED STATES,

PATENT FFICE.

FRANZ THAU, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

GATE FOR VATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 352,073, dated November 2, 1886. Application filed September 29, 1886. SerialNo. 214,851. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANZ THAU, of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gates for Beer-Vats; and I do hereby declare that the following'is afull, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, andto the letters of reference marked thereon, which form part of this specification, in which" Figure 1 is a front view of my improved door applied to a vat, and partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the same on line m, Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a cross-section taken on line y y of Fig. 1. Figs. at and 5 are details.

This invention relates to improvements in gates for beer-vats, the object'being to provide a gate or door of simple construction that will strongly and tightly'close a man-hole made in the head of the vat adjacent to the lowest part of the chine thereof. The said position of the man-hole is both more convenient .of access and is found in practice to save a great deal of beer that is wasted when the manhole is made in the central part of the head of the vat.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,'A designates a vat, in the head A of which is made the manhole B,adjacent to the lowest part of the chine b.

b is the chine-groove made .in the staves, and into which the edge of the head is inserted. Thehead, in making the man-hole, is, however, cut away, so as not to enter the said groove at the lowest part of the vat.

O is a frame of general rectangular contour, but arched on top. a 0 are side flangeson the said frame, and c is a vertical re-enforcement at the center of the top where the side flanges unite. The said flanges are provided with boltholes, by means of which and suitable bolts the frame may be firmly secured against the head of the vat, with its opening 0 corresponding with the man'hole B. The lower bar or rail, (3*, of the frame 0 has its lower edge curved to fit accurately against the inner surface of the chine, and has a flange, 0", located inward'from its outer face, which extends down ward and fits closely into thelowest part of the chine-groove b,its lower edge being curved to fit accurately therein.

c c are projections standing horizontally inward from the flange 0", and provided with bolt-holes, by means of which and suitable bolts the projections are-firmly secured to the inner surface of the vat.

D is a flange standing outward from the frame G, and concentrically surrounding the opening 0; and d is'a groove situated concentrically within the flange D and adjacent to said opening. The groove is filled with rubber or other suitable packing, to make an airtight joint when the gate, hereinafter described, is closed. The lowest part of the flange D is continuous with the bottom rail, 0, and its lower edge is likewise curved to fit against the inner surface of the chine.

E is the door or gate, having on one side the hinge-lugs e e, and near the other side thehandle e. e isa seat formed in the central part of the gate at the meeting of-two re-enforcing strips, as shown.

F F are hinge-lugs, standing from flange c on one side, and forming, with the lugs e and pin f, which passes through openings in the lugs, the gate-hinge.

G is a yoke-bar, one end of which enters between the lugs e, and has the pin f passing through a suitable opening in it so that it pivots thereon. The other end of the yoke-bar is enlarged laterally, and provided with an opening, 9, for the passage of the rod or'bar H, which has its inner part reduced and threaded. The said rod passes through corresponding openings in the flange c and the head of the vat, and is engaged by a retaining-nut on the inner side of the latter, while the shoulder formed by the reduced part rests against the outer surface of the head.

The outer part of the rod H is provided with a longitudinal slot, h, to receive the tapered key hi, which secures the end of the yoke bar on the rod H.

Instead of the slot, the outer end of the rod H may be threaded and engagedby a thumbnut, h, on the outer side of the yoke-bar, as shown in Fig. 4..

The central part of the yoke-bar is enlarged and provided with the threaded opening for the tightening-bolt I, the innerend of which bears on the seat 6. The outer end of said bolt is enlarged, and has secured to it the lever-handle J, by which it is rotated.

The manner of forcing the gate tight is evii dent from the above description.

I am aware that the pivoted yoke-bar, en-

too

gaging-rod,and tightening-bolt have been used, and I make no broad claim thereto as my invention, which relates more particularly to the means of securing the gate-frame over a manhole and adjacent to the lowest part of the chine of the vat.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patcut, is

1. In gates for vats, a gate-frame secured to the head of the vat over a man-ho1e in the said head adjacent to the lowest part of the chine thereof, and provided with a flange located in ward from the front edge of its bottom rail, and extending downward into the lowest part ofthe chine-groove, with its lower edge curved so as to fit accurately within said groove, sub stantially as specified.

2. The combination, with a vat having a man-hole in its head adjacent to the lowest part of the chine, the head being cut away in such manner to form the man-hole that its edge does not enter the lowest part of the chine-groove, of the gate-framesecured to the head with its opening corresponding to the manhole, and provided with a bottom rail fitting against the inner surface of the chine, and a flange entering and fitting within the lowest part of the ehine'groove, and the gate hinged to the frame and. secured tightly over the manhole by means substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the vat A, having the chine I), provided with the usual groove, 1), and the head A, provided with the manhole 13, adjacent to thelowest part of the chine, 0f the frame 0, provided with the bottom rail, 0, fitting against theiuner surface of the chine, the flange c", fitting into the lowest part of the chine-groove, and the projections cflsecured by bolts to the inner surface of the vat, the gate 'hinged to the frame, and means, substantially as described, whereby the gate is secured strongly and tightly over the man-hole.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my ownI afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

FRANZ THAU.

"Witnesses:

T. H. ALEXANDER, THEODORE S. WEsT, 

